Video: Dr Cullen at Drinking Liberally

We just received a video of Michael Cullen’s speech to Drinking Liberally on Wednesday from one of the attendees.

It’s well worth a look. Everyone who was there that I have spoken to since was hugely impressed because Cullen spoke from his roots, from his political soul. He would do well to speak like this more often.

70 comments on “Video: Dr Cullen at Drinking Liberally”

Why not some comparison of Dr Cullen with Dr Sutch?
Somehow I don’t think Dr Sutch would have been Drinking Liberally at this time when Labour is looking down the barrel of a Key/Douglas home invasion.
Isnt it time for Labour to take a giant leap left instead of picking over leftovers of the last privatisation fiesta?
I few good lessons from Dr Sutch’s handbook on state socialism would do the country a world of good. You could start with ‘Takeover NZ’ written in 1971 before anyone else had woken up to the neo-liberal onslaught.

I think Dr Cullen makes a good point, that we should take as self-evident that we are all innately equal. But according to his principles, tax breaks should only go to the hard-working low income employees and not the hard-working employees who hold down two jobs or spend their spare time up-skilling, who, on the back of their extra effort, creep into a higher bracket.

tax breaks should only go to the hard-working low income employees and not the hard-working employees who hold down two jobs or spend their spare time up-skilling, who, on the back of their extra effort, creep into a higher bracket.

You may not have noticed but that’s the people he’s trying to help. The people who actually work rather than the people who are well off already who do SFA. It’s a balancing act as he can’t make everyone better off just by waving a pen. Cut taxes too much, don’t target the tax credits correctly and society will be worse off and that won’t help anyone.

But his intellectual waffle belies his moralistic preachings. That is he’s an academic elitist which in itself is hierarchical.

Ummm – what? Cullen talks about issues intelligently at that makes him an academic elitist? Have you considered the possibility that when you look at Cullen what you see is a vehicle for loading up with your own prejudices?

The libertarian concept of low tax, minimal government, is the best way to ensure people live how they want too.

Which is proved time and time again in countries like, ummm – countries like …. ahhhh – help me out here – what actual countries work like this again?

For starters, Rob, there’s Estonia. They instituted a flat tax of 26% (company and personal) back in ’94, and have since lowered it to 24% – with plans to get it down to a modest 20%. For some time now it’s been one of the most dynamic economies in the E.U. last year posting 11.3% growth. Their tax system is so simple it takes 15 minutes to complete, and like most things in Estonia, you can do it online.

But it is having it’s growing pains: unemployment. At just 4% the biggest problem Estonia is facing today is a shortage of workers.

Sten Tamkivi, Skype’s Estonian operations manager (a company borne out of the Estonian boom) says they’re enjoying one of the greatest boosts in their national standard of living: “This is is the best time in our history.”

Correction: Estonia’s flat tax is currently sitting at 21% and they plan to lower it to 18% by 2011.

It’s a shame, that despite their unprecedented growth, some in the Estonian government are calling for a reintroduction of progressive taxes. It seems they may have to go through the inevitable reversal of fortune before flat tax is proved beyond reasonable doubt.

Estonia’s 24% is flat tax but it is not low tax, it’s about double our lowest rate.

Estonia is not low government, its government (for a population of only 1.3 Million) is every bit as complex and hands on as our own, including mandating compulsory military service for males, and “PC gone mad” laws like “Cultural Autonomy for National Minorities”.

Nope, not a Libertarian paradise at all. What else ya got?

Flat tax works. For everyone. Every one.

Everyone except those whose taxes would go up under that system. You know – the lowest wage earners…

Cullen talks about issues intelligently at that makes him an academic elitist?

I don’t know why Dr Cullen would bother with a thick person like me. Expecting Dr Cullen to dumb down his language for us commoners is just soooo beneath him. We should just stick with watching the V8s leave the complex issues to the upper echelons of the Labour caucus.

^I know my sarcasm is about as appealing as a bucket of sick, but Dr Cullen does nothing to dispel the perception that Labour is a bunch of academic elites who can only talk amongst themselves – which is in total contrast to their rhetoric on ‘class-less societies’.

Dr Cullen almost ties himself in knots as he describes how he moved from working class, to middle class (private school), to rich-prick class. He’s gilt ridden.

But he doesn’t need to be. Dr Cullen fully deserve to be where he is & the money he earns. I’m not envious of his intellect or his wealth because he works hard – even though I may not agree with him.

Dr Cullen needs to get over his obsession with class & realise that drive & ambition are the ingredients to success.

“The average Estonian is paying half as much tax than the average Kiwi, so on that basis I’d say it’s extremely low.”

G – it’s lucky that that is not your point, because it is wrong. You need to be earning well over $50,000 here to be paying an equivalent 24% flat tax.

As to your actual point – you are taking a typical right wing view that equality is paying the same amount of tax. There’s more to life than the tax rate you pay! If you were able to explore your exact same train of thought with less of a narrow view you might be surprised.

Here’s a hint – what do you think really matters to people – opportiunities and quality of life, or a progressive marginal tax system?

HS, on NX’s points. It is lovely rhetoric, and a false sentiment fuelled by the right that the left doesn’t support this type of sentiment. For example, nothing Cullen says is in conflict with NX’s points you highlighted.

“In most western European countries and the United States, advocates of progressive taxation include the vast majority of economists and social scientists.[8][9][10] In the U.S., the vast majority of economists (81%) support progressive taxation.[8][9][10]”

I think opportunities and quality of life are very important – two things which are being hindered by our pitiful growth rate, which is less than a third of Estonia’s. A flat-tax regime clearly worked for them: ever since Estonia introduced it their quality of life has gone through the roof, and as indicated by their massive worker shortage, so have their opportunities.

But what I’m more interested in, Matthew, is how you reconcile ‘equality for all’ with a tax system that is anything but equitable.

NX, you clearly have issues, but they are your issues, not Cullen’s. Good luck on your journey.

Thx r0b, but somehow I suspect your words of encouragement are disingenuous.

Yeah I know I’m tying my own arguments in knots, but the heart of what I’m trying to say is; how can Dr Cullen call others ‘rich-pricks’ without belittling his own accomplishments in life?

And then how can he try to explain away this inherit contradiction by preaching about class equality using academic jargon that not everyone can understand?? I mean… HELLOO… is Dr Cullen bipolar or something. But then again… he did say he was recovering from a cold.

Quality of life hindered by our pitiful growth rate????
I would like to know how one measures QOL ? A larger Plama screen perhaps ?
The world and environment cannot withstand unlimited growth as all growth is based on the explosion of non renewable finite resources.
and anyway

the 2006 Mercer Quality of Living survey of 215 world cities, Auckland and Wellington ranked 5th and 12th respectively for quality of life. The top five were: Zurich, Geneva, Vancouver, Vienna and Auckland. Sydney stayed at 9th. Paris ranked 33rd. Baghdad ranked last.

The analysis was based on an evaluation of 39 criteria, including political, social, economic, and environmental factors, personal safety and health, education, transport, and other public services. The scores for personal safety and security were based on relationships with other countries, as well as internal stability and crime, including terrorism. Law enforcement, censorship, and limitations on personal freedom were also taken into account.

A study by the World Institute for Development Economics Research at United Nations University reports that the richest 1% of adults alone owned 40% of global assets in the year 2000, and that the richest 10% of adults accounted for 85% of the world total. The bottom half of the world adult population owned barely 1% of global wealth.

BTW, Matthew, you’re right of course, it’s not the average hard worker paying twice as much tax here: it’s the hard worker in the 39% bracket. However, I think once you’ve applied GST you’ll find even the average kiwi is paying more tax than the average Estonian.

[No-one pays 39% tax in NZ, it’s brackets, eh? so even on $100K you’re only paying 30% tax. No-one in NZ pays double what an Estonian pays in tax %. You should live in Estonia for a while and see if that’s preferable. Some nice bars but you wouldn’t want to get sick, or have to raise a kid, or be old, or have low skills. Estonia still has net emigration, we can pick and choose our immgrants. And the Government budget is subsidised by the EU. Estonia’s growth rate is high because it is a small country with a well-educated workforce in Europe, in the EU, with rich cousins in Finland that use it has a manufacturing base and tourism destination. It was always destined to be a first-world country but wasn’t rich for the last 70 years because of the USSR. Now, it is rapidly making up ground, but only because it got left so far behind. Oh and there is GST [VAT] in Estonia. SP]

OOB, this is what more I want: I want our people to stop dying on hospital waiting lists; I want violent crime stats to drop, not rise; I want more kids coming out of school being able to read and write; I want a growth rate that takes us up the OECD – not down; and I want more of my money back in my pocket.

But back to my point: how do you reconcile ‘equality for all’ and a tax regime that is anything but equitable?

[G. Those are things we all want. The question of politics is how to achieve society’s aims given the economic and other constraints. I don’t see any answers from National. I do see progress from Labour and the Greens. SP]

G, we may be paying more tax here, but I suspect we’re earning a lot more too. I think this is where the comparisons can’t continue. Comparisons of proportions of income tax paid may be a useful measure, but even then there is a statistical limitation – it depends on the number of people in each country at each level, and a wealthier country should have a higher percentage of people paying higher levels of tax – this doesn’t necessarily show any advantages of a flat tax system.

To state the obvious – Bhutan isn’t a better country than NZ to live in, despite the tiny amount of tax paid by the inhabitants. You need to keep a lot of things in mind when trying to make a valid country-to-country comparison, and i don’t think the Estonia example does this, especially if you’re going to try to factor in GST.

To your point how do you reconcile â€˜equality for all’ and a tax regime that is anything but equitable? You are equating ‘equitable’ with tax and nothing else. In the end this is absurd – the government looks after a great deal of things, so any discussion cannot simply be framed around the level of income tax paid.

And in practicality, there is no way to have an “equitable” tax system a you see it. Consider the minimum costs of living – with a flat tax and no labour market distortions, there will be some people earning below the poverty line – not an imagined line, or anything like that – they will not be earning enough to clothe, feed and shelter themseleves.

I don’t imagine you would be advocating this, G, unless you are an extreme libertarian.

So we obviously need some intervention – minimum wages, a social safety net, and so on. But how can we do this? it’s not “equitable” right? Someone earning money and paying tax is not getting money from the Government, but vice versa.

You can’t frame a debate around equality purely around tax paid, as if it is in a vaccuum. You’re forgetting that taxation is a means to an end, and raising it on a pedestal until it becomes an end in of itself.

Let me put it another way: Do you think the government’s main measure of “equality’ should be the amount of tax paid? Do you think the main OECD/UN/international measure of a country’s quality of living should be the percentage of tax paid?

When does one stop treating tax as the be-all and end-all and look at the greater picture, G?

G, we may be paying more tax here, but I suspect we’re earning a lot more too. I think this is where the comparisons can’t continue. Comparisons of proportions of income tax paid may be a useful measure, but even then there is a statistical limitation – it depends on the number of people in each country at each level, and a wealthier country should have a higher percentage of people paying higher levels of tax – this doesn’t necessarily show any advantages of a flat tax system.

To state the obvious – Bhutan isn’t a better country than NZ to live in, despite the tiny amount of tax paid by the inhabitants. You need to keep a lot of things in mind when trying to make a valid country-to-country comparison, and i don’t think the Estonia example does this, especially if you’re going to try to factor in GST.

To your point how do you reconcile â€˜equality for all’ and a tax regime that is anything but equitable? You are equating ‘equitable’ with tax and nothing else. In the end this is absurd – the government looks after a great deal of things, so any discussion cannot simply be framed around the level of income tax paid.

And in practicality, there is no way to have an “equitable” tax system a you see it. Consider the minimum costs of living – with a flat tax and no labour market distortions, there will be some people earning below the poverty line – not an imagined line, or anything like that – they will not be earning enough to clothe, feed and shelter themseleves.

I don’t imagine you would be advocating this, G, unless you are an extreme libertarian.

So we obviously need some intervention – minimum wages, a social safety net, and so on. But how can we do this? it’s not “equitable” right? Someone earning money and paying tax is not getting money from the Government, but vice versa.

You can’t frame a debate around equality purely around tax paid, as if it is in a vaccuum. You’re forgetting that taxation is a means to an end, and raising it on a pedestal until it becomes an end in of itself.

Let me put it another way: Do you think the government’s one & only measure of “equality” should be the amount of tax paid? Do you think the main OECD/UN/international measure of a country’s quality of living should be the percentage of tax paid?

When does one stop treating tax as the be-all and end-all and look at the greater picture, G?

I want to stop people dying on Hospital waiting lists
what emotive crap for a small country ,we have an amazing public health system
New Zealand is a fabulous place to live we have all have enough to eat ( judging by the obesity epidemic way too much),
Everyone seems to have access to consumer electronics, affordable and accessible Doctors and other health professionals. a well resourced and uncorrupted police force , fantastic climate . great roading network with cheap petrol (in comparison to Europe ) and honest and accessible government with a fair electoral process.

This place is fucking paradise believe me
an all we get is people moaning that they don’t have enough
Fuck if everybody in the world had the same amount of wealth that we have in New Zealand we would need half a dozen planets
and still you moan moan moan fucking moan
This IS a great place to be, sure we could do better particularly in regards to the environment but netherthe less a really great place to live.
And I am so grateful to have the opportunity to move here and have my family grow up in NZ.
Its a fantastic place

how do you reconcile â€˜equality for all’ and a tax regime that is anything but equitable?

You are equating ‘equitable’ with tax and nothing else. In the end this is absurd – the government looks after a great deal of things, so any discussion cannot simply be framed around the level of income tax paid.

And in practicality, there is no way to have an “equitable” tax system a you see it. Consider the minimum costs of living – with a flat tax and no labour market distortions, there will be some people earning below the poverty line – not an imagined line, or anything like that – they will not be earning enough to clothe, feed and shelter themseleves.

I don’t imagine you would be advocating this, G, unless you are an extreme libertarian.

So we obviously need some intervention – minimum wages, a social safety net, and so on. But how can we do this? it’s not “equitable” right? Someone earning money and paying tax is not getting money from the Government, but vice versa.

You can’t frame a debate around equality purely around tax paid, as if it is in a vaccuum. You’re forgetting that taxation is a means to an end, and raising it on a pedestal until it becomes an end in of itself.

Let me put it another way: Do you think the government’s main measure of ‘equality’ should be the amount of tax paid? Do you think the main OECD/UN/international measure of a country’s quality of living should be the percentage of tax paid?

When does one stop treating tax as the be-all and end-all and look at the greater picture, G?

Edit: took a few attempts to get this posted. I hope all the previous attempts don’t show up!

G – you’re taking one perspective of equality for all: Equal taxation. Surely you accept that this leads to inequality of real income. Progressive taxation recognises that people with significant discretionary income can afford to contribute more of it to society in general.

I’m nowhere close to advocating equal income for all, but I do see the sense in paying more tax the more money you earn. You still get to keep some of the money you earn.

Compare someone on 37k to you on 60k (for example)

You have equality on all income up to 37k – 21% or whatever the rate is. Same rules for both of you.
You, however, through good fortune, brilliance, hardwork, whatever, happen to make another 23k/year that the other guy doesn’t get at all. In order to provide healthcare, roads, education etc and generally balance the accounts the govt has decided that 33% is a good amount for you to pay in tax on that income. There’s still equality – if the other guy started creeping into the higher bracket he’d be paying higher tax as well. It’s just that he’s poorer than you.

There’s a difference between equal and fair. Especially since you can’t actually get equality. Just consider the possible things you could “equalise” which would obviously lead to completely different outcomes.

He knows that much of this success was of his own doing, but that his own efforts were (while necessary) not sufficient.

Okay, so for a millionaire to call another millionaire a ‘rich-prick’ without belittling their own hard work or ambition is to really call the person lazy, unintelligent therefore undeserving of their fortune.
I’m sorry but that’s a stretch even for Cullen. Especially when you consider the person in question, John Key, is hard working, smart & from a humble background.

The puzzle that is Dr Cullen continues when you consider his policies:
1. Interest free student loans benefits the rich the most because they get free money when they can afford to pay the interest.
2. Kiwisaver benefits the rich the most because they get subsidized savings.
3. Superannuation isn’t means tested which means rich-pricks like Cullen get the new topped up amount.
4. Cullen has reduced the bottom tax rate by only 2.5 percent (15 to 12.5%), but shifted the top tax-rate up by $10K.

I think you misunderstood me all I was saying was that a little less envy of people who have done well (tall poppy syndrome) and more appreciation of drive and ambition as key parts of success wouldn’t go amiss in NZ – I’m certain that Michael Cullen shares both of these sentiments as do most Labour MPs to suggest they didn’t would be as fatuous as suggesting that National MPs didn’t believe that all NZ’rs are equal.

and r0b you would be disappointed if I didn’t call you on this – how can you agree with oob (Yes I agree with virtually everything he’s said) on the obesity epidemic when you railed against me when my view was that poverty wasn’t at the heart of obestity and the NIDDM growth in NZ

Higherstandard – I’ve long since stopped thinking you were an angry RWNJ type, so that comment wasn’t directed at you specifically! I don’t think the Tall Poppy syndrome really exists as some claim, but is a myth typified by some on the right to try and force an agenda on tax, equality and income redustribuion and paint them in a negative light (y’see, it’s only become a big thing in the last few years right, about the same time that tax cuts bacame the big story. Very ‘conspiracy theory’ and I have little but perceptions upon which to base that assertion, but come what may, I think the whole concept has become politicised). But that’s a topic for another thread!

NX – a couple of little points – using ‘rich prick’ comment as an example doesn’t help your argument, it would take a lot to convince me that the gist of that comment was that Key was a prick because he was rich (as opposed to him being a prick that happened to be rich).

Criticising him for using academic jargon – I’m sorry that is just a stupid comment. He was talking to an educated (or at least politically interested) audience, and it was fair enough of him to assume that he would be understood. You weren’t there right? You’re the only person complaining about him using jargon, and you weren’t part of the audience!

The puzzle that is Dr Cullen continues when you consider his policies:
1. Interest free student loans benefits the rich the most because they get free money when they can afford to pay the interest.

Everyone gets free money.

2. Kiwisaver benefits the rich the most because they get subsidized savings.

Everyone gets the same subsidy (though yes the rich are more inclined to save).

3. Superannuation isn’t means tested which means

Everyone the same.

4. Cullen has reduced the bottom tax rate by only 2.5 percent (15 to 12.5%), but shifted the top tax-rate up by $10K.

Apples and oranges (rates and thresholds). The budget tax cuts were best (in realtive terms) for those earning 47K and less.

If Dr Cullen isn’t a guilt riddled socialist, then what is he?

A proud and effective social democrat.

HS and r0b you would be disappointed if I didn’t call you on this

Sigh!

how can you agree with oob … on the obesity epidemic

Because nothing oob said contradicts what I believe, which started with: “At the extremes those suffering from genuine malnutrition are of course not fat. But in “rich’ countries obesity is largely a condition of the (relatively) poor, who consume food that is cheaper but unhealthy (‘energy dense’)”. Note “largely”. But let’s not re-litigate this one.

Okay, so for a millionaire to call another millionaire a â€˜rich-prick’ without belittling their own hard work or ambition is to really call the person lazy, unintelligent therefore undeserving of their fortune.

Nope. That’s not what I meant at all. What I am saying is that in order to get rich, you usually have to have hard work and drive, skill, patience and a whole host of other personal traits. Having these will not however always grabt you wealth. Those traits are necessary, but not sufficient.

What you also need is luck, and a society that allows you to become rich. This includes a justice system, education and health systems, safety nets, human rights and a whole lot of other things that Cullen alludes to in his speech. It is the people that pretend that these other social things played no part in their wealth that are the pricks. It’s really not that difficult.

He is not saying that Key doesn’t deserve his wealth, but that right wingers sometimes underate the role that society played in how that wealth came to be. And that to do so makes you a prick. Whether or not this is true in Key’s case, I don’t care. It was a throw away line in the house from Cullen, that I assume had some context to a debate.

Okay I get your point. So the fact that Cullen lumped an insult (prick), with a description of wealth (rich) are completely unrelated. Just like saying ‘dumb woman’, or ‘arrogant BMW driver’. Thx for clearing that up.

Criticising him for using academic jargon – I’m sorry that is just a stupid comment. He was talking to an educated (or at least politically interested) audience

Hello… I’ve heard Dr Cullen in parliament; he always talks like that. I have difficulty understanding his answers to English’s questions – or perhaps I’m just really thick. Shame he doesn’t cater for us simpletons. You know… equality for all.

What you also need is luck, and a society that allows you to become rich. This includes a justice system, education and health systems, safety nets, human rights and a whole lot of other things that Cullen alludes to in his speech. It is the people that pretend that these other social things played no part in their wealth that are the pricks. It’s really not that difficult.

^ I agreed. One would be a prick if they didn’t take a wider view for how they became rich.

Taxation might not be the *only* important issue for kiwis, but poll after poll is telling us that it is the *most* important. Bottom-line, most of us feel we’re being taxed way too much. Successive – and enormous – budget surpluses only confirm this.

So, on the subject of equality and the most important issue for kiwis right now, how does one adequately reconcile ‘equality for all’ and a taxation system that is utterly lop-sided?

Why should one hard worker who holds down two jobs, or worked hard at up-skilling in their spare time, have to contribute a much bigger percentage of their earnings than someone who works hard in a single job or didn’t choose to up-skill in their spare time?

Dr Cullen is not even-handed when it comes to granting hard workers a tax break. He prefers to give them to low-income hard workers, and “gets his back up” when he’s asked to give them to high-income hard workers.

Whichever way you look at this, there is nothing ‘innately equal’ in the way government recognises or rewards each of these worker’s respective efforts.

“The latest national survey of 2882 respondents, conducted between March 27 and April 8, shows 81% believe the Government can afford to cut personal income taxes this year.”

So, yes, kiwis have their caveats – nevertheless, 81% are convinced the government *can* afford a tax break *without* cuts to essential services; that just shows you how much they really think they’re being over-taxed.

But that doesn’t answer Dr Cullen’s contradiction of wanting ‘equality for all’ – except for the most important issue to the majority of kiwis: tax.

But, Rob, the survey says most kiwis believe the government *can* afford tax cuts; in other words, most believe they won’t lose anything vital because of them.

But this *is* a tangent, because it doesn’t matter whether or not tax cuts are the number one issue – it has nothing to do with reconciling ‘equality for all’ and the massive inequality for all taxpayers.

“Asked which of six options were most important to them this year:
30% cited a personal tax cut
28% increased spending on social services like education, health and benefits
23% lower mortgage interest rates
8% maintaining social spending, and
2% a company tax cut
Only 3% did not know.”

But as I said, Rob, whether or not tax is the *most* important issue is not the issue (surely you can concede it’s at least quite important to kiwis): â€˜equality for all’ and the massive inequality for all taxpayers is the issue that remains unreconciled.

What’s that G – did I hear you say that you think people should be paid by “merit”?

Well sure, that seems pretty unequal but fair in some sense, so perhaps we could allow it. And while we’re at it we could tax people according to ability to pay (pretty unequal, but fair in some sense). So that those who have much can help those that have little, and somehow out of these two unequal processes the interests of equality are served.

Dr Cullen seems to be saying ‘equality for all’ except when it comes to your labour and the hard-earned rewards from it; he’s saying the hard-working guy who works two jobs should pay something extra in his taxes to the hard-working guy who works one.

Listen to Cullen’s speech again. Listen to it three times, it’ll do you good. Cullen takes equality for all as a starting point and a guiding principle, and then goes on to talk about how principles are expressed and adapted in the context of a social democracy. There’s a considerable focus on the tradeoffs between ideals and pragmatism.

Now you have your knickers in a bunch over progressive tax. Well, toughen up. Most of us accept unequal but fair taxes (just as we accept unequal but fair wages) as part of a fair society.

If you want to focus on Cullen’s use of the term “equal” and take it from a pragmatic social context and apply it as an absolute mathematical rule, then expect to get yourself tied into all sorts of knots trying to defend such nonsense. Equal taxes, sure thing, equal wages too.

Funnily, Rob, I already have listened to it three times… I was looking hard for the reconciliation of what appears to me a glaring contradiction.

Rob: “Equal taxes, sure thing, equal wages too.”

So you DO think a hard-working Stop-Go Man should get paid the same amount as a hard-working Minister of Finance…

Wow. Given the massive downward leveling effect it would have on his wages, I think that idea would even make the good doctor break into a sweat. 🙂

But getting back to the point: if his principle is “Equality for all” and his pragmatic adaptation in this context leads to “Equality for all EXCEPT those earning over $38,000 (soon to be those earning over $14,000)” then I’d say his principle is shot to hell.

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By Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern I am every bit as angry as you are. I am every bit as disappointed as you must be. The people with power, oversight and the ability to do something about these processes within the Labour Party should be ashamed. Whoever those people are, I ...

Two-Faced? Labour insiders' commitment to the neoliberal status quo puts them at odds with their party’s membership; its trade union affiliates; and a majority of Labour voters, but this only serves to strengthen the perception they have of themselves as a special elite. Among the lesser breeds, they’ll talk up a ...

There has been a lot of talk about Boris Johnson wanting an election, and he has blustered with great gusto about 'chicken' Jeremy Corbyn refusing one, but I think there are many reasons why he is secretly glad he has been refused the opportunity:The Tories are an utter rabble,tearing themselves ...

Scottish appeal court judges have declared that Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful. The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the powers to interfere in the prime ...

By Simon Bridges. The following is a press release from the office of Simon Bridges, leader of The National Party. Key ora, New Zealand. Happy Maori Language Week. Look, I’m writing to you today because I want to clear something up. There’s been a lot of kerfuffle around some things ...

I understand there's some stuff going round about how the SIS "was removed from the list of public offices covered by the Public Records Act in 2017". The context of course being their records derived from US torture, which will be disposed of or sealed. The good news is that ...

Dr. Christopher Labos and Jonathan Jarry discuss the recent Canadian fluoride/IQ research. They provide an expert analysis of the paper and its problems. Click on image to go to podcast. The critical debate about the recent ...

Australia is burning down again, and meanwhile its natural disaster minister is denying climate change:Australia’s minister responsible for drought and natural disasters, David Littleproud, has said that he doesn’t “know if climate change is manmade”. Clarifying earlier comments that the question is “irrelevant” when considering the Coalition government’s response to ...

Auckland Philippines Solidarity is excited to host Professor Judy Taguiwalo for a speaking tour of NZ in September. She is a well-known activist in the Philippines and was a political prisoner under the Marcos dictatorship. Professor Taguiwalo briefly served as a Cabinet member under President Duterte but was forced from ...

This open letter to the Green Party was penned after an opinion piece by Jill Abigail, a feminist and founding member of the party, was censored by the Greens’ leadership. (Redline has reprinted her article here).The intolerance of the Green Party leaders and their acceptance of the misogyny of gender ...

Today is a Member's day, and David Seymour's End of Life Choice Bill continues its slow crawl through its committee stage. They're spending the whole day on it today, though the first hour is likely to be spent on voting left over from last time. After that they'll move on ...

An ambitious plan to fly to Los Angeles petered out into a brief sight-seeing trip and a desire to return home and get some sleep before work tomorrow. Air New Zealand has confirmed a flight to Los Angeles last night was turned back about a quarter of the way into ...

There appears to be consensus – by omission – that the concept of indigenous futures should be accepted at face value. So I scavenged the internet to see if I could locate an academic descriptor or a framework around how we think about it as a concept, and whether it ...

Here’s another novelty chocolate to shove in your gob, New Zealand Cadbury could be seeking to make itself great again with a rumoured new release: Pineapple Trumps, a spin on its classic chocolate-encased pineapple treat and do-it-yourself tooth remover. The global confectionery manufacturer and bumbling “before” character in an infomercial, ...

During my time in the Pentagon I had the privilege of sitting down with military leaders and defence and security officials from a variety of Latin American nations. Sometimes I was present as a subordinate assistant to a senior US defence department official, sometimes as part of a delegation that ...

Kia ora, Aotearoa. It’s that magical time of year. Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. In English, the week that frightens talk radio. As you probably know by now, all your favourite media outlets are participating, some more successfully than others. Stuff has changed its name to Puna for the ...

Eighteen months ago, the government promised to strengthen the Bill of Rights Act, by explicitly affirming the power of the courts to issue declarations of inconsistency and requiring Parliament to formally respond to them. So how's that going? I was curious, so I asked for all advice about the proposal. ...

As the Brexit saga staggers on, the focus is naturally enough on the Prime Minister and his attempts to achieve Brexit “do or die”. But the role played by the Leader of the Opposition is of almost equal interest and complexity. The first problem for Jeremy Corbyn is that he ...

Last week, English Prime Minister Boris Johnson boldly declared that he would rather die be dead in a ditch than delay Brexit. Unfortunately for him, the UK parliament accepted the challenge, and promptly dug one for him. The "rebellion bill" requires him to ask for and secure yet another temporary ...

Lost In Political Space: The most important takeaway from this latest Labour sexual assault scandal, which (if I may paraphrase Nixon’s White House counsel’s, John Dean’s, infamous description of Watergate) is “growing like a cancer” on the premiership, is the Labour Party organisation’s extraordinary professional paralysis in the face of ...

by Daphna Whitmore Every Sunday for the past two months unionists from First Union, with supporters from other unions, have set out to the Ihumatao land protest, put up gazebos and gas barbeques, and cooked food for a few hundred locals and supporters who have come from across the country. ...

Newsroom today has an excellent, in-depth article on pine trees as carbon sinks. The TL;DR is that pine is really good at soaking up carbon, but people prefer far-less efficient native forests instead. Which is understandable, but there's two problems: firstly, we've pissed about so long on this problem that ...

Canan Kaftancioglu is a Turkish politician and member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Like most modern politicians, she tweets, and uses the platform to criticise the Turkish government. She has criticised them over the death of a 14-year-old boy who was hit by a tear gas grenade during ...

Hi there, just call me Tim.We face tough problems, and I’d like to help, because there are solutions.An Auckand District Health Board member has nominated me for as a candidate for the ADHB, because her MS-related pain and fatigue is reduced with hemp products from Rotorua. Nothing else helped her. If I ...

The Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security has published their report on whether the SIS and GCSB had any complicity in American torture. And its damning. The pull quote is this:The Inquiry found both agencies, but to a much greater degree, the NZSIS, received many intelligence reports obtained from detainees who, ...

Bewhiskered Cassandra? Professor Hugh White’s chilling suggestion, advanced to select collections of academic, military and diplomatic Kiwi experts over the course of the past week, is that the assumptions upon which Australia and New Zealand have built their foreign affairs and defence policies for practically their entire histories – are ...

For most of the time I was a British MP, my party was out of government – these were the Thatcher years, when it was hard for anyone else to get a look-in. As a front-bencher and shadow minister, I became familiar with the strategies required in a parliamentary democracy ...

by Gearóid Ó Loingsigh On August 29th a video in which veteran FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) commander Iván Márquez announced that they had taken up arms again was released. There was no delay in the reaction to it, from longtime Liberal Party figure and former president Uribe, for ...

Air New Zealand couldn’t believe its luck that this seemingly ideal piece of real estate had so far gone entirely unnoticed. Air New Zealand’s search for a site to build a second Auckland Airport may have made a breakthrough this afternoon, after employees scanning Google satellite imagery spotted a huge, ...

No-one on the anti-capitalist left in this country today puts forward a case that Labour is on the side of the working class. There are certainly people who call themselves ‘socialist’ who do, but they are essentially liberals with vested interests in Labourism – often for career reasons. Nevertheless, there ...

When National was in government and fucking over the poor for the benefit of the rich, foodbanks were a growth industry. And now Labour is in charge, nothing has changed: A huge demand for emergency food parcels means the Auckland City Mission is struggling to prepare for the impending arrival ...

Gayford, pictured here on The Project, before things got wildly out of control. A bold public relations move by the Government to encourage parents to vaccinate their children has gone horribly wrong. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern appeared on tonight’s episode of Three’s The Project, where the plan was for her ...

Mr. Whippy’s business model has driven it down a dark road of intimidation. Residents in major centres around the country are becoming disgruntled by the increasingly aggressive actions of purported ice cream company Mr. Whippy, who have taken to parking on people’s front lawns and doorsteps in a desperate attempt ...

Today the government released its Action Plan for Healthy Waterways, aimed at cleaning up our lakes and rivers. Its actually quite good. There will be protection for wetlands, better standards for swimming spots, a requirement for continuous improvement, and better standards for wastewater and stormwater. But most importantly, there's a ...

Today I appeared before the Environment Committee to give an oral submission on the Zero Carbon Bill. Over 1,500 people have asked to appear in person, so they've divided into subcommittees and are off touring the country, giving people a five minute slot each. The other submitters were a mixed ...

Anti-fluoride activists have some wealthy backers – they are erecting billboards misrepresenting the Canadian study on many New Zealand cities – and local authorities are ordering their removal because of their scaremongering. Many New Zealanders ...

So, those who “know best” have again done their worst. While constantly claiming to be the guardians of democracy and the constitution, and respecters of the 2016 referendum result, diehard Remainers (who have never brought themselves to believe that their advice could have been rejected) have striven might and main ...

Following publication of this article, the Ministry has requested it to be noted that this supplied image is not necessarily representative of what the final house will look like, and it “probably won’t be that nice.” As part of today’s long-anticipated reset of the Government’s flagship KiwiBuild policy, Housing Minister ...

Over the next week or two we will be running three synopses of parts of the opening chapter of John Smith’s Imperialism in the 21st Century (New York, Monthly Review Press, 2016). The synopsis and commentary below is written by Phil Duncan. Marx began Capital not with a sweeping historical ...

The State Services Commission and Ombudsman have released another batch of OIA statistics, covering the last six months. Request volumes are up, and the core public service is generally handling them within the legal timeframe, though this may be because they've learned to extend rather than just ignore things. And ...

In 1994, I was editing an ambitious street mag called Planet, from a fabled office at at 309 Karangahape Road. The thirteenth issue of the magazine was published in the winter of that year and its cover embodied a particularly ambitious goal: the end of cannabis prohibition.I wanted to do ...

KiwiBuild was one of the Ardern government's core policies. The government would end the housing crisis and make housing affordable again by building 100,000 new homes. Of course, it didn't work out like that: targets weren't met, the houses they did build were in the wrong place, and the whole ...

As the climate crisis escalates, it is now obvious that we need to radically decarbonise our economy. The good news is that its looking easy and profitable for the energy sector. Wind is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and now solar is too:The levellised cost of solar PV has fallen ...

A Crown Asset? For reasons relating to its own political convenience, the Crown pretends to believe that “No one owns the water.” To say otherwise would re-vivify the promises contained in the Treaty of Waitangi – most particularly those pertaining to the power of the chiefs and their proprietary rights ...

Most people would say, no doubt, that they have a pretty good idea of what money is. They live with the reality of money every day. It is what is needed to buy the necessities of life and to maintain a decent standard of living. You get money, they would ...

The article below was an opinion piece that appeared in the Spring 2019 issue of Te Awa (the NZ Green Party’s newsletter) and on the Greens website. In keeping with their policy of hostility to women defending women’s right to female-only spaces, Green bureaucrats have since removed the opinion piece. ...

Longer term readers may remember my complaining that, as a political scientist, it is burdensome to have non-political scientists wanting to engage me about politics. No layperson would think to approach an astrophysicist and lecture him/her on the finer details of quarks and black holes, but everybody with an opinion ...

Joining The Fight: Stevan Eldred-Grigg's argument for New Zealand staying out of the Second World War fails not only on the hard-headed grounds of preserving the country’s strategic and economic interests; and not just on the soft-hearted grounds of duty and loyalty to the nation that had given New Zealand ...

On September 27, School Strike 4 Climate will be striking for a future to pressure the government for meaningful climate action. This time, they've asked adults to join them. And now, Lincoln University and Victoria University of Wellington have signed on:Victoria University of Wellington has joined Lincoln University in endorsing ...

Another day, another constitutional outrage in the UK. This time, the government is saying that if parliament passes a law to stop Brexit before being prorogued, they may just ignore it:A senior cabinet minister has suggested Boris Johnson could defy legislation to prevent a no-deal Brexit if it is forced ...

Dum-de-doo. Children across New Zealand have known him for generations as the lovable giraffe who tells them to exercise, hydrate and not to shove lit cigarettes up their nostrils. But a world renowned giraffe expert says we shouldn’t be getting attached to Life Education’s Harold the Giraffe, as he is ...

By Mike Hosking. Yesterday morning, I waltzed into work, and as I walked past the drones aggressively typing out news on the computers I’ve repeatedly asked to be moved further away from, I caught a glimpse of the words “climate change”, and noticed that suspiciously they weren’t in condescending quotation ...

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National's Deputy Leader Paula Bennett spent the week claiming a serious cover-up in the Prime Minister's office. She used parliamentary privilege to name three of the Prime Minister's closest advisors who, she says, knew about the sexual assault ...

“The Game Animal Council is concerned that the Government’s second tranche of firearms legislation released today may contain unreasonable provisions that will unfairly impact hunters,” says Game Animal Council Chair Don Hammond. ...

Government policy work on the Carbon Zero bill highlights connections between climate change, carbon sequestration and agriculture. Water quality and allocation are also topical with the release of the Draft Policy Statement for Freshwater Management ...

DairyNZ Chief Executive Dr Tim Mackle is welcoming this afternoon’s announcement that consultation on Essential Freshwater has been extended by two weeks - but is calling on the Minister to go further. ...

Immigration New Zealand could really benefit from an large investment of money, comments Ms June Ranson, chair of the New Zealand Association for Migration and Investment (NZAMI) , a leading voice in the immigration sector. “Instead of spending $25m ...

In recent times there has been no shortage of commentary regarding whistleblowers, with the proposed amendments to the Protected Disclosures Act 2000. These are aimed at strengthening the protection available to whistleblowers in New Zealand. That ...

Gun Control NZ strongly welcomes the comprehensive gun law reform bill and calls on all political parties to support it. Gun Control NZ encourages New Zealanders to let their MPs know they support this Bill, submit to the Select Committee, and ...

Federated Farmers agrees with most of the steps by government to protect people from illegal or irresponsible firearms use. But concerns about pest control and the effectiveness of a register remain. ...

Today at Parliament the NZ Drug Foundation released Taking control of cannabis: A model for responsible regulation, a new report that shows how we can take back control of cannabis from organised crime. ...

Smoking kills 5,000 Kiwis each year, so any government policies to help reduce smoking are a good thing. However, the current approaches are not working nor will the proposed limit on flavoured e-liquid that Associate Minister Salesa announced on the news ...

A petition, that promises a significant and dramatic improvement for the New Zealand economy, was handed to Dr Deborah Russell, the MP for New Lynn today. The petition, signed by over 5,000 New Zealanders addresses our crippling level of debt as well ...

The New Zealand Medical Association welcomes the announcement of an Initial Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission. We look forward to working with the newly appointed Chair Hayden Wano and the Commission. “It is vital that the steps to mental health ...

For anyone who even randomly follows the news will know that Hong Kong has been embroiled in demonstrations for months. These sometimes bloody demonstrations initially started as a result of a proposed Extradition Bill whereby there would be special ...

The release yesterday of Port Otago’s financial result for 2019, outlining a 12% increase and profits, including the news that the Chief Executive had received a $100,000 pay increase taking his remuneration to between $610,000-620,000, is like ...

“ I continue to be amazed at the incompetence of this Government when it comes to suicide prevention and mental health. Not only is this Government about to appoint a regional coroner who has a history of under reporting suicides amongst children ...

The Far North District Council (FNDC) and the Whangarei District Council (WDC) have lodged a joint appeal against the Northland Regional Council’s (NRC) omission of precautionary rules in its plan. [1] ...

The Chairman of the Authority, Judge Colin Doherty, has agreed to assist the Hong Kong Independent Police Complaints Council (IPCC) as a member of an international panel to provide high level advice to the IPCC in relation to its proposed "Thematic ...

“Putting families into motels is a temporary fix for desperate situations, rather than a sustainable solution to problems of poverty and homelessness,” says Scott Figenshow, Chief Executive of Community Housing Aotearoa. He was commenting on media ...

The New Zealand Psychological Society (NZPsS) says the current partial strike by 600 psychologists working in district health boards is a sign that temporary fixes to ongoing workforce shortages in the profession are not working. ...

New Zealand’s contribution to military operations in Malaya and Malaysia from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s will be commemorated in a national service held at Pukeahu National War Memorial Park at 11.00am on Monday 16 September. ...

The resignation of the President of the Labour Party over the sex pest allegations was inevitable. It was inevitable because of his appalling handling of the situation so far; and, because in situations like this where there has to be a “fall guy” ...

Yesterday Hon Grant Robertson Minister of Finance issued a welcome ‘clear directive’ in the press to ensure every Government considers the wellbeing of New Zealanders when creating future budgets . ...

The Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa has written to Minister of Foreign Affairs Winston Peters today urging that New Zealand condemn the Israeli Prime Minister’s planned annexation of vast tracts of the occupied West Bank of Palestine. ...

Today Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga New Zealand’s Māori Centre of Research Excellence (NPM) releases its next Te Arotahi paper calling on government to pay even closer attention to the issues of whānau and whakapapa within the criminal justice system. ...

“Technology adoption supports higher productivity growth, higher income growth and increased resources to pay for the things New Zealanders’ value. But the main problem facing New Zealand today isn’t too much technology, it’s not enough,” ...

Federated Farmers is asking nicely - please can the Government immediately extend the timeframe of the Essential Freshwater consultation so we can find a pathway forward that provides for both the health of the water, the health of people and the health ...

Youthline applauds the Government’s commitment to boosting mental health and addiction programmes and its intention to establish a Suicide Prevention Office but we urge swifter action in relation to implementing the programmes announced in the last budget ...

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An Auckland mayoral candidate has broken the internet* by announcing a plan for a monorail around the central city. Who is Craig Lord, and is he serious? Alex Braae spoke to him shortly after his campaign launch to find out.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. ...

Antibiotics are becoming increasingly less effective, so what treatments can we use when the drugs stop working? With help from plant extracts, award-winning company HerbScience is set to breathe new life into how we treat bacterial infections.When Cynthia Hunefeld was just 10 years old, her father was hospitalised with a ...

For some, it symbolises the very backbone of New Zealand’s food culture. But can Kiwi onion dip survive after the factory that makes reduced cream is shut down?The Australian factory that makes Nestlé reduced cream, an integral ingredient in Kiwi onion dip, is shutting down, casting a shadow over the ...

Every year Matariki X brings Māori innovators and entrepreneurs together to share their experiences and inspire one another. Callaghan Innovation’s Vinnie Campbell says the Māori economy’s biggest strengths have nothing to do with money.This story was funded by The Spinoff Members. For more about becoming a member and supporting The ...

Today marks the start of Covering Climate Now. To launch the week, the New Zealand climate change minister, James Shaw, writes an open letter to participants in the School Strike 4 Climate ahead of their day of action later this month.The Spinoff’s participation in Covering Climate Now is thanks to ...

National’s new agriculture spokesperson finds himself in one of the party’s most important portfolios, at a time of dramatically increasing tensions in the sector. Will Todd Muller, a man regularly mentioned as a future leader contender, find common ground?Todd Muller’s obsession with politics began with an American encyclopaedia, which his ...

Miss June’s Bad Luck Party was recorded literally between hospital shifts, and their summer schedule includes both festival dates and their frontwoman’s graduation from medical school. We sat down with the band to ask just how, exactly, they’ve survived so far.The first years of life for Tāmaki Makaurau pop-punk quartet ...

The following four short extracts are from A City Possessed: The Christchurch Child Crèche Case by Lynley Hood, which has just been reprinted by Otago University Press. The book was first published in 2001 and won the Montana Medal for Non-Fiction at the Montana New Zealand Book Awards. The controversial ...

Hamilton councillors have drawn headlines this year for being anti-science and insensitive to terror victims. At a mayoral debate on Wednesday, there were signs a campaign for change is gathering force.The Spinoff local election coverage is made possible thanks to The SpinoffMembers. For more about becoming a member and supporting The Spinoff’s journalism click ...

The Spinoff editor writes on the story that has engulfed NZ politics this week.One of the very few positive things to come out of a hideous week in New Zealand politics has been the sieving-out of the blinkered, partisan zealots. On one side, those who are ready to conjure up ...

In June 2018, Rawinia Higgins was appointed chairperson of Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. She’s the first female and the first te reo Māori second-language speaker to hold the role, and during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, she sat down with The Spinoff to talk about her ...

Compulsory New Zealand history in schools is an exciting opportunity but it’s crucial we’re critical of the stories we tell ourselves, writes Dr Aroha Harris. History is not simply an assemblage of facts and evidence. History is also the interrogation of those things.This may be unsettling news for some, including the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre, Griffith University Argument is everywhere. From the kitchen table to the boardroom to the highest echelons of power, we all use argument to persuade, investigate new ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alastair Blanshard, Paul Eliadis Chair of Classics and Ancient History Deputy Head of School, The University of Queensland Comedy often succeeds where tragedy fails. Fangirls, the pop musical which premiered on Thursday night in Brisbane, is not the first drama to explore ...

On the 10th anniversary of the infamous “Imma let you finish” episode, Josie Adams reflects on what this moment revealed about both Taylor Swift and Kanye West.Cast your mind back a decade: 2009 DJ Earworm was still good, Barack Obama was sworn in as president of the US, Israeli ground ...

Analysis - An astounding week in politics has left Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern carrying responsibility for sorting out the mess the Labour Party is in over the sexual assault allegation, writes Peter Wilson. ...

Police Minister Stuart Nash has confirmed details of a new bill that will create a registry of guns, and new offences and penalties for illegal manufacture, trafficking or changing markings of firearms. ...

Charli XCX has just released her latest album, Charli. The futuristic musician is always looking ahead, and so are her fans. We’ve paired each star sign with their perfect Charli XCX song.Charli XCX burst onto the scene in 2012, when she co-wrote and performed electro-pop headbanger ‘I Love It’ with ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benedict Sheehy, Associate professor, University of Canberra British health-care conglomerate Bupa runs more nursing homes in Australia than anyone else. We now know its record in meeting basic standards of care is also worse than any other provider. This is more than ...

Fable is best remembered for the disastrous, over-the-top promises made by its designer Peter Molyneux. But maybe, Adam Goodall argues, we’re remembering it all wrong.“There is something I have to say. And I have to say it because I love making games.” So opens an October 2004 post on the ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Hugh Breakey, Senior Research Fellow, Moral philosophy, Institute for Ethics, Governance & Law, Law Futures Centre, Griffith University Argument is everywhere. From the kitchen table to the boardroom to the highest echelons of power, we all use argument to persuade, investigate new ...

The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Native Son: The Writer’s Memoir by Witi Ihimaera (Penguin Random House, $40)Stand by for a review from ...

Tara Ward delved into Māori TV’s impressive OnDemand catalogue and found some of the best TV taonga for your viewing pleasure. From lifestyle shows to documentaries, from current affairs to reality TV, Māori TV has an abundance of quality telly that celebrates and acknowledges the people, places and cultures of ...

A new poem by London-based poet Morgan Bach.Turning, hurtlingI march diligently to sunshine in the parkeverything bathed and turning golden.A woman breathes fire by the folly framing herlike a personal door to hell. Conkers are pitched from high boughsto break and give up fruit, a spire emergent from the baring ...

Simon Day learns about the history and power of Chinese five-spice. Both the origins of Chinese five-spice and the flavour itself are a little mysterious. My internet investigations revealed the powder’s name could be in reference to the use of five spices (although this often grows to six or seven), or ...

Revelations around alleged sexual assault by a Labour staffer and the party inquiry into his behaviour have dominated the week. Alex Casey and Mihi Forbes join Gone By Lunchtime to survey the damage.Alex Casey, author of the Spinoff feature published on Monday, “A Labour volunteer alleged a violent sexual assault ...

In the fourth episode of Actually Interesting, The Spinoff’s monthly podcast exploring the effect AI has on our lives, Russell Brown speaks to Ana Arriola, general manager and partner at Microsoft AI and Research, about ethics and transparency in tech.Subscribe to Actually Interesting via iTunes or listen on the player below.To download this ...

Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage.New Zealand Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.Today’s content by Dr Bryce Edwards.Labour Party sexual assault allegations Andrea Vance (Stuff): How to make the Labour abuse scandal ...

Toi Kai Rākau Iti, who is running in the Eastern Bay of Plenty Kohi Māori constituency, encounters an unlikely channel of youth engagement.In te ao Māori you’re always looking for tohu, or symbols. They guide you through uncertain territory and help you make sense of the world. The arrival of ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tomer Ventura, Senior Lecturer, School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast The creation of all-male or all-female groups of animals, known as monosex populations, has become a potentially useful approach in aquaculture and livestock rearing. Researchers and those in ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Holmes, Director, Climate Change Communication Research Hub, Monash University Predictably, both major political parties are resisting calls this week for a parliamentary conscience vote to declare a climate emergency in Australia. The resistance is unsurprising because both the Coalition and Labor ...

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elizabeth Shi, Lecturer, Graduate School of Business and Law, RMIT University If the Religious Discrimination Bill passes into law, women may find it harder to get an abortion. That’s because health practitioners with an objection to performing the procedure on religious grounds ...